Nighttime Inspiration
by Lord of Kavaka
Summary: ONE-SHOT; Castle can't sleep. And without him in bed, neither can his muse. CASKETT.


*Saw this prompt going around, so I figured I do one as well. Hope you all enjoy.

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Tumblr prompt:

Twistymaven reblogged a quote earlier: "You can't sleep? Me either. Let's can't sleep together." No angst, no secrets. : )-KC

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**Nighttime Inspiration**

Something was worrying her. The bed was empty… and cold.

Her eyebrows came together in frown as she turned onto her side and glanced over at the alarm clock, glaring at the red digital numbers. Her frown grew. It was late. Dead of night. She wanted sleep. But she couldn't. Not without him beside her, near her.

It had been that way… for a while now.

After all the lies and secrets, the fights and explosions… after everything… when they finally crossed that invisible line—jumped off that cliff, holding on to the other—things had been changed forever. She didn't mind the change. In fact, she relished it. Craved it. No longer could she sleep without him, even if he wasn't necessarily in bed, just close by. That's all she needed, was for him to be close by, where she could see him, where he could quickly come to her if she startled awake with nightmares.

She still had them. Not all the time. But they were still there. She could only ever find solace and comfort in his arms. A testament, she thought, to how much she'd grown to depend on him. He was, after all, everything to her. It still puzzled her at times that it took her so long to realize that, and that they had to hurt themselves so much to just take that leap of faith. But now that they had, the world seemed boundless and wonderful, even on the worst of days.

Kate sat up, pulling the sheet with her to cover herself. She knew it was silly, to be so modest, but Alexis was visiting from college, and Kate didn't want to get caught walking around naked. No. Certainly not. It had been embarrassing enough when Alexis had found them once on the couch in the living room, her blouse half open, and his mouth on her exposed flesh. No repeat performance tonight. Slipping her long legs over the side of the mattress, she stood up, clutching the sheet to her chest and wrapping it around her body to cover the essential stuff.

Surveying their bedroom—yes, _their_—honestly she was still adjusting to that idea herself, Kate noticed light filtering through the crack below the door. Keeping one hand on her chest, holding the sheet up, she shuffled over and slowly eased the door open.

And there he was, sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair, his eyes partly open as he stared hard at the smart board. The screen glowed, showing the fake murder board for the latest Nikki Heat book. He didn't notice her, as she slipped into the room, her eyes skimming over him and then the pictures and outlines he'd come up… no _they_… that _they_ had come up with.

Kate smiled softly, and stared at him as he stared at the Nikki Heat murder board.

Slowly this little wrinkle materialized on his brow as he concentrated harder on the board, his eyes narrowing. It was adorable. She loved it, and it made her want to reach out her hand and smooth the wrinkles away.

It was time to announce her presence.

"Castle?"

He startled, blinking fast and swiveling in the chair to face her.

"Kate?"

"You can't sleep?" she asked, tugging the sheet up to ensure it didn't fall. He sighed and gave a tired nod, raking his fingers through his hair. "Me either."

"Did I wake you?" he asked.

Kate gave a slight shake of her head. "No… just… I've gotten used to sleeping beside you, is all."

"Oh," his lips turned up in a little smug grin.

"Don't get so cocky, Castle," Kate flashed him one of her glares, though the twinkle in her eye kind of betrayed her.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her feigned attempt to give him one of her infamous death glares. "Oh, but you like it when I'm cocky," he replied, smirking.

"Maybe," she shrugged noncommittally. "So," Kate worked at changing topics, "care to explain why I woke up to find the bed empty?"

Castle sighed and shifted slightly in the chair, scratching the back of his neck. "My mind… it… it just won't rest, you know?"

She nodded and smiled softly. "Remember who you're talking to?"

He chuckled, and inclined head, lips tugging up slightly. "Yeah, true… famous for your all-nighters at the precinct and staring maddeningly at the murder board."

"That's only when I have a case that needs solving," Kate defended with a slight smirk, stepping more fully into his office.

Castle raised his eyebrows and his eyes dropped as he finally really looked at her, noticing that there was nothing but a thin white sheet separating him from the glory that was Kate Beckett. Biting her lower lip, Kate shifted on her toes and plopped up onto the side of the desk. Oh, she loved this. Sitting on the edge of his desk, especially when he was telling her about the latest chapters he'd written. She loved getting the inside scoop, and hearing what was happening to his characters. Those were little fangirl moments for her, and she relished them.

"But, Rick, that's my reason, but you… no… you always seem quite capable of camping out on the break room couch," Kate said teasingly.

"Nothing stops you from joining me," he interjected with a wink.

Kate rolled her eyes. "One of us has to be the professional one, Castle," she retorted, her eyes gleaming with the ideas he was putting into her head. Why did she always get dirty images around him? She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. Castle smirked, seemingly to know what he was doing to her. She knitted her eyebrows together and tried to focus. "Look… um… so, if you can't sleep, it… it must be something else. Yes?"

Castle turned in his chair to fully face her. She was amazed at his restraint. Normally, when she was this undressed before him, his eyes would be wandering all over her, but he was doing a very good job at keeping them locked on her eyes.

"Don't say it," he said, leaning forward, resting his hands on the desktop.

"I'm not," she said, leaning forward a bit and placing her free hand over his. "Just… you know… I can help."

"Help? How?" he frowned. She'd never really ever offered to help him during one of his creative bursts. She knew that was what this was. She'd seen it before. He'd stare hard at the smart board, at the images and words of Nikki Heat, thinking and thinking. He needed an outlet when that happened. Most times, he'd find it on his own. And that usually entailed him spending several hours writing. But tonight, it looked different. It looked like his creative burst was blocked. Something was preventing him from writing out what his mind was working on getting out.

"Well…, seeing as I can't sleep either," Kate began. "I figured… you know, let's can't sleep together."

His brow furrowed. "Kate… I… er… that… I don't even think that sentence makes sense."

Her lips quirk up and she laughed lightly. "Does it matter?"

"No, it really doesn't," Castle shook his head. "So, you can't sleep?"

"Can't blame me when I wake up in our bed to find myself alone, now can you?" Kate answered, her mouth moving before her brain could catch up.

Castle just stared her. She frowned, perplexed as to what she'd just said that would make him so silent.

"Castle?" she nudged him with her finger. "Rick?"

He blinked and looked up at her. "Kate. Yes?"

Kate gulped. Oh. He was staring at her in that way. That way that she could never get enough of. The one that said she was everything to him. She bit her lip and looked away. She must have let something slip without knowing it.

"Sorry," he said, his eyes dancing with light and mischief. Oh no. Never a good sign. "It… it's just that you said 'our bed'."

Oh… OH! Kate's eyebrows rose and she chewed on her lower lip, feeling her cheeks warm. "Yes… I… I guess I did," she murmured, looking down at him with a timid smile, slightly unsure of herself. She didn't understand why she suddenly had butterflies in her stomach.

Castle shifted, standing up slowly, his hands moving up her bare arms, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. Kate's breath hitched up and her chest clenched as her eyes flicked down a moment. She licked her lips and glanced back up at him as he came closer.

"Do… do you need your muse to give you inspiration?" she panted out, surprised at the sound of her own voice.

Castle smiled and his fingers danced across her shoulders, his breath hot and warm against her cheeks. "I take it you're using that as a metaphor, right?" he asked.

"Castle?"

"Kate."

"Just shut up and kiss me."

And then his lips were on hers, soft and gentle, not demanding or insistent, just loving and tender. Her free hand moved up and fisted his t-shirt, pulling him to her as she deepened the kiss. Opening her mouth to his, she felt electricity spark through her body as their tongues met. She felt his arms wrap around her, tugging her to his chest. His head tilted and his mouth slanted against hers at a different angle as he pulled her off the desk. A moan vibrated out of her throat as his hands slipped under the bed sheet.

"Castle…," she gasped out when they broke for air. "Bed… now."


End file.
